The Triple Bottom Line Blog

Browse the web for any Fortune 500 company followed by the word "watch," and you will find websites devoted to overseeing the company's activities. Use an expletive following the name and sites appear detailing grievances that run from reasonable to far-fetched to demented. (If you haven't already scanned the web for hostile sites aimed at your company, you should try it soon--just be sure to have the antacids within reach before you start.)

Olympic Watch is a recent addition to the watch sites. Dubbed the "Genocide Olympics" by human rights activists who have their eyes on China--for its role in Darfur, not to mention child and slave labor, capital punishment, forced evictions, political repression, and denial of free speech--the site aims to put pressure on Olympic sponsors to speak out against the host country's human rights abuses.

Putting pressure on the authorities directly may be hopeless, but associating big corporate brands with China's denial of basic human rights, might just work. Pressure on business to leave South Africa eventually worked to end apartheid, so why not oppressive practices in China?

The time is right: People in the United States are very upset with China right now, not primarily for human rights violations, but for lead paint on toy trains, poisonous toothpaste, contaminated food and a general concern that China might just grow bigger and faster than us.

So it's a good time to turn up the heat on human rights.

Sponsoring companies will maintain they can't be held responsible for the actions of the Chinese government. But that's like saying that you can’t be held responsible for poisonous toothpaste or child labor simply because you outsourced the manufacture to a third party. If your logo is on the product, it doesn't matter that the culpable party is a separate legal entity, or even a sovereign government. Just ask Nike. Or any of the companies that are under pressure on Darfur.

Corporate managers should be aware that:

1. Your company can be held responsible, and your brand held hostage, for the egregious actions or policies of the government in any country where you do business. This is why, for example, the pressure on Google to fight for free speech in China will continue.

2. You must consider that risk when making any investment in a country with suspect environmental or social policies, or one that is engaged in bad acts, even when your activities in the country have no direct connection to the activities in question.

3. You can't expect a free pass just because the specific operation you're involved in is politically blameless or even has positive connotations like those generally associated with the Olympic movement. Controversy can become attached to any activity under the right (or wrong) circumstances. Fair? Maybe not. But that's reality.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't do business abroad or attach your name to any widely-publicized event. But when you do, do your homework. Research likely areas of controversy; track the vagaries of public opinion constantly; and be prepared to respond honestly and pro-actively to attacks.

Above all, be clear in your own mind why you are choosing to associate yourself with a particular regime and how you intend to have a positive impact on the people whose lives you will be touching. Having a clear, coherent, and believable story to tell can go a long way toward defusing the hostility you may encounter.

Labels: China, Communications and Marketing, Human Rights and Child Labor, Nike, Olympics